Nairobi MCAs fault court’s reversal of Elachi sacking

Nairobi County Assembly on Tuesday faulted the decision to halt the removal of Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi arguing that the move amounted to interference with its work.

Arguing before Justice Stephen Radido on Tuesday, the County Assembly through lawyer Tom Ojienda said no action, whether civil or criminal, can be taken against MCAs for carrying out their mandate. He said the MCAs had a right to choose their leader and 103 of its members had voted to impeach Ms Elachi.

Prof Ojienda added that the matter was a political question and can only be resolved politically and not through a court process.

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Further, Prof Ojienda urged the court to strike out the case saying it was not properly filed in court Ms Elachi moved to court last week and obtained temporary orders stopping her impeachment.

Through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, Ms Elachi maintained that she was properly in court which was right in stopping the process because the MCAs wanted to get rid of her for political expediency and to have her post filled illegally.

She was accused of abuse of office, inviting police officers to arrest the assembly clerk over a procurement tender, influencing tender for purchase of the speaker’s house, use of public funds to pay for plastic surgery, and travelling on First Class outside the country contrary to State requirements.

Ms Elachi defended herself against allegations that she was behind clerk Jacob Ngwele’s troubles, saying that Jubilee MCAs had in the past decried high-level graft within the assembly.